Monday, 24 May 2010

Looks Like The MONA Meme Is Dead...

A man was seriously ill in hospital last night after he was caught in the crossfire during a gunfight between two warring gangs at a street festival.

Two warring gangs, eh..?

Police said he was white and had suffered a single handgun wound.

'Police said'..? How odd. Note that they describe the victim, not the perpetrators. That, they leave to the witnesses:

Witness Lewis Barker, 22, a poet, said: ‘The park was packed, there wasn’t even enough room to move. We suddenly heard about three gunshots from 50 yards away and saw a group of black youths running through the park.

‘Everyone rushed over to the man who had been shot but he appeared to have had nothing to do with them.’

Quick to distance the victim from the perps. That's a refreshing change. He isn't the only eyewitness making that distinction either:

Another witness called Peter, from Dublin, said: ‘There were two groups of youths who were antagonising each other and suddenly one group started shooting at the other.

‘Then a white guy sitting around his barbecue with friends got shot in the crossfire.’

Wow, there's no doubt whatsoever that the Men of No Appearance aren't going to show up here:

And a festival-goer called Jacob added: ‘We were just sitting around playing our guitars when we heard a gunshot and saw a black kid running past wearing a white shirt and jeans. It was awful.’

Still, the Mayor of Hackney seems to be able to find a silver lining:

The Mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe, said: ‘Despite this very worrying incident, hundreds of people were able to enjoy the event in London Fields safely.

'Thankfully the incident took place some distance from the event, but if anyone has any information, I would urge them to contact the police.’

Gosh, good for you, Jules! Hate to have anything so unseemly as a violent shootout between warring street scum spoil your little shindig...

MummyLongLegs wonders where Diane Abbott was. After all, Hackney's her stomping ground, and she's usually only too happy to get her ugly mug on the TV...